The article is excerpted from Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine.Consult the second edition of this authoritative, comprehensive, in-depth medical guide for information on more than 1,700 medical topics in language accessible to adult laypersons. Presented in a single alphabetical sequence, articles range in length from one or two paragraphs for minor topics, to several pages or more for major topics. Disease/disorder articles typically cover definition; description; causes a (more...)

This digital document is an article from Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed., brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses. The length of the article is 623 words. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. The third edition of this authoritative, comprehensi (more...)